In Search of a Friend
by grafitti
Summary: Chihiro never got to meet Haku again, but her search continues as she and her family move to a new town. Natsume isn't sure what to make of the new girl. She can see youkai as well, but it seems like she's looking for something important. Natsume and Chihiro finally meet someone like themselves (who isn't an exorcist) and band together to find Haku. No pairings - Rating may go up
1. Prologue

A/N: This is a Spirited Away/Natsume Yuujinchou crossover! There will be no  
pairings except for possibly Haku/Chihiro.

This story takes place several years after the events of Spirited Away, and Chihiro and Natusme are in the same class. The basic premise is that Chihiro moves to Natsume's town, and is trying to find Haku. The story is generally written from Natsume's side of things, and _**I'm going to save finding Haku for the end**_, as I would like to make other arcs, and maybe a few episodic chapters.

I hope you all enjoy and that I'll do the story justice. :)

* * *

Prologue

* * *

Natsume's heart raced as he ran away from the youkai chasing him. It was just his luck that this youkai decided to attack him on the way to school, causing him to jump through bushes and almost knock his fellow students down.

"Give me the book of friends!" it moaned, stretching it's pale claws toward Natsume. He didn't get a very good look at the youkai, but it's unnaturally long neck and bloody kimono creeper him out enough.

Natsume dove into a bush on the side of the road; at this rate, he would be late to class yet again. His hand clamped over his mouth to hold himself quiet as the youkai passed.

"Damn, where'd she go?" the youkai muttered. "Nateume Reiko! Natsume Reiko!" it called out. The pale-haired boy let out the breath he had been holding, carefully pulling himself out of the leaves as the youkai was lost in the distance. Sighing, Natsume turned to the opposite direction and headed for school.

When Natsume slid open the classroom door, the lesson had already began.

"Late again, Natsume?" The teacher sighed. The highschoolers giggled as the boy was reprimanded. "You're only late by ten minutes this time - go sit down."

Natsume bowed quickly and resigned himself to his seat, but not before noticing a face he'd never seen before. A girl rested her head in one hand, paying attention to the lesson, but clearly bored. Her brown hair was piled up in a bun on the top of her head except for her bangs, which framed her face and forehead. She looked like any other girl in the class, but something about her made her seem a little different.

As the teacher continued with his lecture, Natsume tapped Nishimura's elbow.

"Hey Nishimura, who's she?" Natsume asked quietly. Nishimura looked over in the direction he was pointing and waggled his eyebrows at Natsume.

"Why? Do you have the hots for her?"

"Nothing like that!" The pale-haired boy said, blushing slightly from embarrassment.

"Ehh? How boring!" Nishimura frowned. "That's Ogino Chihiro-san. Basically, she moved here from Ito, in the Shizuoka Prefecture. I don't know anything else, though."

Natsume nodded his thanks, silently wondering if the girl was connected to youkai somehow.

"Natsume! Nishimura! Pay attention to the lesson!" The teacher yelled at them. The boys flinched when they found that they were caught by the teacher.

"Yes, sensei." they droned.

The lesson continued in monotony, and Natsume started to doodle in his notebook. He drew a small caricature of the long-necked youkai he encountered that morning, with claws, a bloodied kimono, and frizzy hair. He looked out the window at the youkai for reference, and went back to doodling in more details for the picture. Natsume froze. He had become so used to youkai, he barely noticed the one outside the window!

"I found you, Natsume Reiko!" it's voice was a ghostly groan. "Now give me the Book of Friends!" A pale, clawed hand phased through the glass, attempting to grab at the boy's clothing. Quickly, Natsume escaped from his desk and excused himself from the class, saying he ahd to go to the bathroom. He ignored the teacher's plea to wait for a moment, and dashed through the hall, not daring to retrieve the Book of Friends from his jacket.

Panting, he looked behind him to see if the youkai was following him - it was still chasing after him, and was gaining on him. Natsume's foot hit something large, and sent the boy flying to the linoleum floor. He looked to see that it was Nyanko-sensei walking through the school.

"Why are you here, Nyanko-sensei?" Natsume yelled.

"I followed to make sure your wimpy ass was okay. This youkai is a bit more powerful than the ones that you're used to." Nyanko rolled his eyes. "Honestly, I should just let these youkai eat you. it'd be a load off my shoulders!"

The long-necked youkai was approaching, it's claws ready to sink into Natsume's flesh. Without a word, Nyanko jumped up to show off the bright light from his forehead, driving the youkai away. Unlike the usual result, where the youkai is eaten away by the light and left to pull itself together somewhere else, it covered it's eyes and screamed, running away of it's own accord. Nyanko sniffed in distaste.

"I guess it was a little more powerful than I expected as well." the cat muttered. He stretched lazily. "Well, maybe I'll finally get the Book of Friends today, Natsume!" A fist sunk into the youkai's face.

"Like that's going to happen, sensei." Natsume frowned. "Why was that youkai powerful enough to resist?"

"Hm, that kind of youkai likes to eat humans, but only after a decade or two. Although they normally wouldn't be great enough to withstand my power, this one did. He's probably already marked you as a meal. As long as he has you marked, he'll be drawn toward you."

Natsume grimaced at the thought of yet another youkai wanting to devour his flesh. Almost on instinct, he checked parts of his body for a visible mark, having enough experience to know what happens when a youkai wants to keep track of it's prey. Sure enough, there was a feathery looking mark around his right arm, only half-hidden by his sleeve. He gave an exasperated sigh, not surprised that there'd be a youkai causing trouble that day.

"Sensei, you can go back home now. If I get caught with you here, I'll be reprimanded for having a pet here." Natsume told him.

"I'm not a pet!" Nyanko huffed. "I'm a powerful, graceful youkai that has generously decided to protect your weak self!" But, ever loyal, he muttered to himself as he walked off, leaving Natsume in the hallway.

Cautiously, Natsume kept his eyes peeled for another youkai attack as he headed back to class.

* * *

Natsume's classes continued without interruption until the bell rang, signaling the end of the school day. Nishimura immediately tried to go talk to Ogino, the new girl. He liked girls, but unfortunately could never seem to actually get a date with someone. Natsume watched from afar as Nishimura tried to make conversation with Chihiro. She smiled and laughed lightly at whatever Satoru said, but it seemed that she soon dropped him by waving goodbye and leaving for home.

Kitamoto was observing everything from the door, and laughed loudly after Ogino had left.

"You struck out, Satoru!" He guffawed good-naturedly. Nishimura blushed and waved him off, playing along with his teasing. Natsume chuckled as he walked towards his friends.

"I thought you had a crush on Taki-san?" Natsume said to Nishimura. A hand clamped over the boy's mouth.

"Shh! We're supposed to keep that a secret, Natsume!" Nishimura hissed urgently. The three friends laughed and snickered at Satoru's plight, not ever really believing that it was that much of a secret anyways.

* * *

The three friends made their own way home, chatting light-heartedly amongst themselves as they walked on the dirt path. Natsume trailed behind his friends, keeping a close eye on his surroundings in case the long-necked youkai suddenly jumped out of a tree. The dirt underneath his feet molded to the grooves in his shoes, making his footsteps sound light and just barely there. Without knowing it, Natsume had fallen behind, and noticed that Kitamoto and Nishimura were waiting for him at the fork in the road.

"Natsume, you're in your own little world sometimes!" Kitamoto laughed gaily.

"Sorry, Kitamoto-kun." said Natsume in a friendly tone. The other two laughed it off as they waved Natsume goodbye, saying they'd see him the next day.

Alone on the way home, Natsume felt even more nervous than he had before. The path to his home was a little more shaded by the forest trees, meaning that there were more places for a dangerous ayakashi to hide. He heard a twig snap. Immediately, Natsume whirled around to see what was behind him, but this was a mistake, as it allowed pale claws to grip his arms.

The long-necked youkai was back, sinking its claws into Natsume's upper arms. it felt like one claw was trying to cut open the part where the mark was, as if to say that it were taking it's meal at that moment.

"If you don't give me the Book of Friends, then I'll eat you!" It growled through sharp teeth. Rotten breath intruded in Natsume's space, making him cough and wheeze in disgust.

"Let me go!" He yelled, managing to twist one of his arms out of it's grip. Just as the force of freeing his arm swung to the side, he saw a _shinai_ smack the youkai in the face. Again and again, the youkai was batted back by the _shinai_, shrinking away from the talismans wrapped haphazardly around the wooden sword. Each hit was accented with the _kendoka_'s _kiai - _every short, deliberate shout made the attacks seem even more effective. Soon enough, the long-necked youkai fled for the hills, hissing from the pain.

Natsume turned to see that the one who held the shinai was in fact, Ogino Chihiro, the new girl in class 2-C. She was huffing a little, and her hair was messy with stray locks escaping from her bun. Calmly, she adjusted from a fighting stance to simply standing there.

"Natsume-san, you can see them too?" she asked him in a small voice, as if she weren't sure the moment was real.

Natsume stared at her, slightly wide-eyed. He wasn't sure what to feel. This was the first time he met someone that could truly see. At least, someone that wasn't an exorcist, as far as he knew. Dumbly, he nodded, and Ogino let out a breath she'd been holding. The two seemed to have been frozen in the moment - it was likely that Ogino had never met someone who could see youkai either.

"Are you an exorcist?" Natsume asked, glancing at the talisman papers wrapped around her _shinai_. He was hoping that she wouldn't just be another person who didn't care if youkai were hurt or not. Ogino shook her head.

"No, I'm not." she lifted the shinai a little to gesture to the talismans. "I studied up on _onmyodo_ a little so I could protect myself. I've never actually sealed or exorcised a youkai before, though."

Natsume glanced in the direction the long-necked ayakashi had fled.

"Well, thank you for helping me; I don't that that youkai will be coming back any time soon." He smiled a little, and the two shared a laugh. They chuckled with joy and appreciation, finally being able to meet someone like themselves. The laughter soon ended, and the two stood there a little awkwardly, not sure about what to say. "Um... I guess I'll see you tomorrow, Ogino-san." Natsume turned to leave, but Ogino snatched at the back of this white shirt.

"Wait! Natsume-san!" she pleaded. "Since you're able to see youkai as well, can we talk a little about them? I - well - This is the first time I've met someone who can see them, so I'd like to ask some questions, I guess."

Natsume nodded, and gestured for her to follow. They walked side by side for a little while, neither saying a single word for at least ten minutes.

"...How long have you been able to see youkai?" Ogino asked.

"I've been able to see them all my life. Do you mean that you haven't always seen them?"

"Yes, I only started to see them once I moved to Ito. We - I went into a forest and found an ayakashi space, where humans usually can't go. One of the ayakashi there helped me get back home." she explained. "Was there any particular reason why that youkai was chasing you today? I wasn't able to tell it was after you until you dashed out of class. They'll leave you alone if you ignore them."

Natsume looked at her, but she was looking straight ahead at the road.

"That youkai saw me this morning. I yelped when it jumped out of a bush in front of me, and it figured out that I could see it." Natsume said abashedly while Ogino snickered. "Ogino-san, you don't have to laugh."

"Sorry, sorry; it must've been really surprising, Natsume-kun." she smiled. "You don't have to call me Ogino-san; it sounds a little uptight for me. You can call me Chihiro."

"Ah, ok, Chihiro-san."

They held light conversation until they had to part ways for their respective houses.

* * *

"That youkai came after me again, sensei!" Natsume chided his cat. The ceramic youkai was spread out on the floor, reading the finance articles in the newspaper.

"It's your own fault; you told me that I could wait here. The mark isn't on your arm anymore, so I don't see why you're complaining." said Nyanko. "You should've brought me some buns fron Nanatsuji's on the way home! I want meat buns!" He rolled his soft body until he lay right on top of Natsume's lap. The boy rested a hand on the cat's head, scratching lightly, and doing homework with the other hand.

"You've eaten enough meat buns to be a meat bun..." Natsume muttered under his breath. Nyanko ignored the insult in favor of being petted, although he did nip Natsume on the hand. "Oh, Nyanko-sensei; there's a new girl in class; her name is Ogino Chihiro."

"Why is this important? Are you gonna kiss he-" Natsume threw Nyanko off his lap.

"No! Chihiro-san can also see youkai. She helped chase off the youkai today."

"Hm... I thought I felt some spiritual power in that school today. I thought it was you, so I ignored it." mumbled Nyanko. "If that's the case, I can say that you still have more spiritual power than she does."

Natsume put his pencil down, and gathered up his homework to put in his schoolbag.

"She said that she wasn't able to see spirits until she moved to the town she lived in before she moved here; ah, Ito, I think." Natsume chatted lightly.

"You must be happy to have met someone who can see youkai; at least, one that's not a grubby exorcist like that Natori." Nyanko stated nonchalantly. Natsume paused his action for a second, but then continued to pack away his things. He rolled the futon out as well.

"Ah... I guess so. To be honest, I'm not too sure how to feel about it." the pale-haired boy confessed. "It feels a little like something's going to happen." He turned off the light and settled under the blanket, making room for Nyanko as the cat wiggled his way under the futon. "Goodnight, Nyanko-sensei."

The digital clock on the desk silently went through the minutes, counting how much time had passed since Natsume went to bed and fell asleep. The darkness gave no noise, and no youkai knocked at the window that night either, leaving the room in comfortable silence, with the only sound being the chirps of the bugs outside and Natsume's soft breathing. This silence allowed Madara to mull over his thoughts. Ogino Chihiro from the town of Ito. There was something familiar about that name, but the girl's name didn't particularly unsettle the powerful youkai.

It just roused his curiosity a little.

* * *

A/N:

_Ito, Shizuoka prefecture, Japan - This is a real town. I just did a quick search for a town with hot springs, as I figured that Yubaba's bath-house (which is essentially an onsen-ryokan or just an onsen), as an ayakashi space, would be near somewhere ideal for onsens._

_I kept Japanese honorifics because although English has some rough translation of them, the meaning and feel of being addressed in a certain way isn't carried over to English if I get rid of them. I feel that having honorifics in a fanfic like this would be better, as it helps create relationship balances._

_Shinai - a sword made from wooden panels. A shinai is made to resemble a katana, and is used in Kendo. Chihiro will be in the Kendo club in this fic._

_Kiai - This is a loud, succinct shout used mean making strikes in kendo. A kiai is used to express fighting spirit._

_Kendoka - A practitioner of kendo. This is used to refer to Chihiro when she's attacking the youkai because Natsume has not yet looked to see who the sword-wielder is._

_Onmyodo - A Japanese cosmology of natural science and occultism. it is based on the Chinese philosophies of Ying and Yang and Wu Xing, and was accepted as a practical system of divination. Straight from wikipedia, aw yeah._

Ah, keep in mind that this is just the prologue. I wasn't really sure about any other ways to start the story off, and I apologize if it seems to jump from scene to scene. I'll try to make my future chapters longer.


	2. The Message

Just as a reminder, _finding Haku will not happen immediately_, as I want to draw the story out and **_save finding Haku for the end_**. There will be _at the most__, 3 arcs_, or maybe just one arc split into 3 basic story movements (most likely), and maybe a few episodic/oneshot chapters if I feel like it. And there are no romantic angles in this except for possibly squint-and-miss Haku/Chihiro at the end.

* * *

Chapter 1

"The Message"

* * *

"Now that I think about it, Ogino is really similar to Natsume and Tanuma!" Kitamoto pointed out.

"How so?" Tanuma asked. Natsume had not yet mentioned Chihiro's ability to see youkai, and wasn't sure whether to tell Tanuma or not.

"Sometimes she stares past people to look at something else, and she's not the easiest to get along with." kitamoto counted each aspect on a finger. "I think she's a little anemic; sometimes she gets dizzy or a bit sick."

"I can really feel the love." Tanuma chuckled.

"Oh, I'm not saying that it's anything bad!" Kitamoto defended. "But she's really at the same time, if you think about it."

Natsume became more attentive to the conversation, interested in what Kitamoto was saying.

"Yeah! Did you know she joined the Kendo club? Pretty gutsy of her since she gets dizzy sometimes." Nishimura piped in. "She kinda has this magnetic personality too - she puts in a lot of effort for everything, and she's really nice." Nishimura gushed about his new crush, not caring if he embarrassed himself in front of the guys.

"Kendo?" Natsume said. "'_I guess that's why she had the _shinai_ yesterday..._'" he thought.

"Yeah, apparently she's pretty good at it too. I heard from one of the girls in the Kendo club that she started once she graduated to middle school back in Ito." Nishimura informed Natsume. "You're usually not interested in girls, Natsume. Do you think she's cute?" Nishimura laughed.

"Ah, that's not it, Nishimura-kun." Natsume waved his friend off good-naturedly. Nishimura decided to go chat with Chihiro, wanting to get to know the girl better. Kitamoto went as well, probably to help his best friend out. Tanuma turned to Natsume with a friendly smile.

"So what's with you and Ogino-san?" Tanuma teased him.

"Ogino helped me out with the youkai yesterday; she came and hit it with a spelled _shinai_." Natsume explained. Tanuma looked a little shocked, and quite impressed.

"She can see them like you?" Tanuma took note of Natsume's nod. Natsume saw Tanuma frown a little, but soon school his expression into a polite smile. "Is she another exorcist that you know?" It had only been last week that Tanuma met Natori for the first time, when he helped Natsume escape from a glass bottle prison.

"No, she told me that she wasn't." Natsume said nothing more, instead pressing his lips together slightly.

"Don't worry Natsume, I won't go up to her and talk about it. I'd probably end up being rude anyways." Tanuma assured Natsume of his secrecy, being able to read the worried expression on his friend's face. Natsume thanked him happily, when a giant shadow passed by the window. Tanuma didn't bat an eye at it, but Natsume turned sharply towards the window, only to see that there was nothing there.

"Is something wrong, Natsume?" Tanuma asked, bringing his friend back to his senses. "A youkai?"

"Ah... No, it's nothing." Natsume mumbled, partly to himself. "I thought I saw a shadow, but I guess I was wrong." The honey-haired boy decided to leave for home with Tanuma, and turned towards the classroom door. Before the duo left, Natsume saw that Chihiro was staring out the window, her expression guarded as if she saw something that she didn't want to see.

* * *

Natsume lay spread-eagled on the floor of his room, his tan locks flared out around his head on the tatami. It was early June, and the summer heat arrived early that year. The air conditioning system hadn't fully kicked in yet, so Natsume's home was left uncomfortably warm. No youkai had come to bother Natsume that day, and Nyanko was sleeping in the closet to avoid the heat, leaving Natsume to his own thoughts. What was the shadow that passed by the window at school? It moved too quickly to see it if you weren't already facing the window, so he wasn't able to catch it with his eye. But Chihiro seemed to have seen it - was it a youkai? Natsume furrowed his brows a little. Maybe he should've talked to her about it...

"Takashi-kun!" Touko called from downstairs. "Natori-san is here to see you!" Natsume blinked. Did Natori want help with another exorcism? He usually sent a message via paper doll instead of suddenly showing up - perhaps the case was particularly crucial this time. As Natsume got to his feet, Nyanko emerged from the closet to follow him downstairs, knowing there'd be yet another matter with ayakashi.

Natsume met Natori at the door, greeting him politely and stepping outside for a quick conversation.

"Is something wrong, Natori-san?" The actor's face was more serious than usual, as if he needed to be on his toes constantly that day. "I'll tell Touko-san that we're going for a walk." He dipped inside the house for a minute to let his family know that he'd be going out for a while. Natsume led Natori off the property and the two started to walk towards the mountains with the ceramic cat trailing behind them.

"Natsume-kun, you'll want to stay away from the mountains for a little while," Natori advised him. "There have been more ayakashi as of late. None of the exorcists know why some of them have come to this area."

"What do you mean, Natori-san?" Natsume asked in a concerned tone. "What's happening?" Natori sighed ruefully, not wanting to bring Natsume into such a matter.

"There's been more youkai spotted near Yatsuhara and the surrounding area recently. I didn't think anything of it until the clans received a message at a recent exorcist meeting." Natori adjusted his hat and glasses. "Various clans have exorcists working in the Mount Fuji area, and they've noticed that some youkai have been leaving the surroundings forests. Migrating, if you will."

Natsume contemplated the possible causes, unable to think of one. He picked Nyanko up for comfort, holding the cat close to his chest. Nyanko's large black eyes were narrowed, showing his deep thought over the predicament at hand.

"This could be a problem." Nyanko spoke. "Do you know which part of Mount Fuji the youkai are coming from?"

"Only youkai from the southeast side to the southwest side have been noted so far. Some from Sagami Bay have also left their area." The cat snorted at Natori.

"Most everything in Sagami bay is harmless. But then it's only a matter of time until a big one comes out from Aokigahara." Nyanko crawled up Natsume until he sat on the boy's shoulder. "Only if this 'migration' thing continues, of course." Natsume looked between Nyanko and Natori, not completely understanding what they were talking about. It felt like trying to listen to a conversation in a language in which you were only barely proficient.

"Are the youkai from Aokigahara particularly bad?" The golden-haired boy inquired. The calico cat on his shoulder smacked him with a paw.

"Moron, what do you think? Places like Aokigahara aren't exactly the purest grounds." He snapped. "I'm not too sure if anything will actually come out from Aokigahara though; the youkai there don't like leaving." Natsume nodded in understanding.

"I can't promise that I'll stay away from the forest, Natori-san." Natsume stated, his light brown eyes meeting dark ones. "If something happens and I'm able to help, I'm not going to back down."

"Don't I know it." Natori chuckled humorlessly, remembering all the times the boy recklessly threw himself in harm's way. The man took hold of Natsume and turned him around. "You should probably be getting home now. I bet Touko-san is cooking something good! I just came to warn you about what's been happening recently. Take care, Natsume."

* * *

A/N:

_Aokigahara - Aokigahara, or Jukai, is a forest at the northwest base of Mount Fuji. It's a popular place for suicides, most likely because of the 1960 book "Tower of Waves", but Aokigahara has been associated with death long before the book was published. Ubasute/Obasute (abandonment of an elder) may ahve been practiced there up until the 19th century in times of flood or drought. This is all from Wikipedia._

_Shinai - A wooden, paneled sword used primarily in Kendo._

_Kami - A shinto god, or in NBoF's case, a god = a great yokai with holy(?) powers._

Sorry if Natori or Nyanko seemed OOC; I figured it would be logical or the two to be really serious considering it's a major deal for youkai to be leaving their area all of a sudden. And if I'm missing honorifics (I probably am,) please correct me; I can't remember if Natori addresses Natsume as just Natsume or as Natsume-kun, and how Nishimura and Kitomoto address Natsume and Natsume them; etc. etc.

This chapter isn't very exciting, I know. I'm not really sure if this is already moving fast or slow. But I hope you liked it though! :) Yes, the sudden youkai migration is connected to Chihiro. I feel like I'm building Chihiro up to be his super, god-like character because of all the concern around her identity and ability, even though it's going to be less about her own power and more about the things around her? I don't know.


	3. Growing Concerns

A/N: Sorry that I haven't updated in a while, my computer was in the shop, and I had a temporary writer's block for this story. Also, marching band: the annual three to four months of nothing but band, band, band and no time for fanfiction. Lots of excuses here...

**Chapter 2**

"Growing Concerns"

* * *

In his room that night, Natsume lay awake, unable to sleep. Although it has been long since he'd gone to bed and settled under the covers, his mind turned thoughts like wheels.

Nyanko-sensei was out in the forest with the other _youkai_, drinking _sake_ like he did almost every other night, leaving Natsume alone in the quiet ambience of the room, the only noises being the light pitter patter of the spring rain outside and the low hum of the air system. Slight worries of _Aokigahara_ nipped at his mind, preying on his nerves with spindly fingers. Before, Nyanko-sensei mentioned that sooner or later, a big _youkai_ from _Aokigahara_ would come knocking – but how soon could Natsume expect it? For all he knew, one could plague _Yatsuhara_ tomorrow.

"_Aokigahara... Sounds particularly heinous._" His thoughts trailed. "_But if they usually don't leave that forest, what could bring them here?_"

Although he wasn't exactly a detective, Natsume wasn't completely dense. Natori's sudden warning came only a day after Ogino Chihiro was introduced to the class. If she hadn't been able to see _youkai_, she probably would've escaped all suspicion, but she also knew something about _onmyodo_ and repelling spirits; could she actually be an exorcist? And why would her presence cause all the _ayakashi_ to just get up and move towards this area? He was ripped from his reverie when the window slid open.

"I'm back!~" Nyanko-sensei slurred in a singsongy voice. He hiccuped and leapt down from the sill, landing straight onto Natsume's face, who yelped in surprise. "Did you miss m-" A fist sunk into the top of the cat's head, effectively pinning him to the futon.

"Don't do that!" The boy hissed, lightly pushing the cat off to the side as he rose to his feet. "God, I can smell your sake breath all the way from here." Natsume was already a good three feet away from his guardian, closing the sliding window. He sat back down on the futon to lay a hand on the ceramic guardian, finding that he was lightly spattered with mud and rain. "I thought you didn't like the rain?"

"I might've gotten a little tipsy with the others and chased them around a bit." The cat's old man voice slurred the words together, making his speech just barely decipherable. "Now my gorgeous coat's soiled thanks to those two-bit idiots... Clean it for me, human!"

"I was going to do that anyways – I can't having you tracking mud into my room!" Natsume snapped, grabbing a spare t-shirt from the closet. He wiped the _ayakashi_ clean of mud, and dried him lightly of the dampness on his vessel. Soon enough, Nyanko was clean, but now the t-shirt was grimy and damp. It was tossed into a small hamper in the corner of the room to be laundered another day.

Suddenly exhausted by his bodyguard's drunken stupor, Natsume settled into his bed, pulling the covers up to his neck. A soft, round head prodded at his shoulder before wriggling under the covers to lay beside Natsume. Like many other times after drinking sake, Nyanko-sensei opted to sleep closer to Natsume's warmth, rather than on his own cushioned box in the corner of the room. The sandy-haired boy immediately pushed himself up, prepared to lecture the _youkai_ about sleeping so close when he reeked of alcohol – but instead he sighed, his words falling just short of his mouth. The ceramic cat had already curled up just below the pillow and nodded off, snoring obnoxiously.

Giving up, Natsume opted to simply settle back into bed, staring up at the ceiling for a few seconds. Soon, the boy turned on his side to pull the fat cat closer to himself, cradling the small warmth in his arms. Natsume's shift in movement caused the cat's ears to twitch, but the guardian was fast asleep in the loose hold. It was interesting that despite being ceramic, the _ayakashi_ in Natsume's arms was soft to the touch, without the feel of real fur; the warmth was real. Nyanko-sensei's breath was still stained with the stench of alcohol, and even though the smell of it pissed him off, Natsume held the cat closely.

* * *

Others would be awoken by the shine of sunlight, or maybe an alarm clock, or even by the sounds of their families getting ready for work, but Natsume was awoken by a little round paw smacking heavily against his face.

"Natsume! Wake up!" The tinny voice of an old man yelled. "It's Sunday! We have things to do, and breakfast to eat! I said, wake _up_! I can't get anything from Nanatsujiya without you to pay for me!" Nyanko-sensei tackled the boy's frame, pummeling him while he was still in bed.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, you stupid cat?!" Natsume snapped angrily, hitting the spirit guardian in the head. "Don't attack me while I'm sleeping!" A light knocking came at the door.

"Takashi-kun? Are you okay? I heard some noises." Touko's soft voice called from outside the door.

"Ah, yes; I'm fine. Nyanko-sensei just knocked something down." he replied politely, assuring Touko. "I'll be down for breakfast right after I change." He could hear Touko's happy murmur of approval.

"Alright then, Takashi-kun. I'll leave you to it." Touko's voice even carried her smile inside of itself. "But you should be quick; we're having mackerel today!" She left soon enough to finish preparing the breakfast food.

Nyanko-sensei hummed, waddling over to the door.

"I can't wait to eat the fish!" He looked back at Natsume. "Don't worry, if you're not there in time, I can eat your share too." Natsume threw a slipper at the cat before he left through the door. Quickly, he got dressed in a blue, short-sleeved button-down and khakis, and pulled on a pair of socks before he left his room for breakfast.

Shigeru was already seated at the table, peacefully reading the newspaper that had been delivered to their door. Touko was placing the last of the dishes on the table and set a bowl down on the floor for the cat to eat. She motioned for Natsume to take a seat at the table which he did.

"Here you go, Nyankichi-kun!" She said happily. The fat cat trodded over to the bowl to gorge himself on the freshly cooked food.

"_Itadakimasu._" Natsume's voice spoke out of habit, ever polite.

"We might have to put Nyangoro-kun on a diet if he keeps eating that way," Shigeru said, observing the spirit's eating habits. "Maybe you could take him on a walk today, Takashi-kun?" Natsume nodded in response, waiting until he swallowed his food to reply.

"Yeah, I can take him for a walk while I'm out with Kitamoto-kun and Nishimura-kun today." he suggested. Shigeru and Touko nodded, eating more of the food that was so lovingly prepared.

"Make sure to take an umbrella with you!" said Touko. "I heard that rain clouds would be coming in later today, so be prepared!"

"But the weather's so nice out today!" Shigeru chuckled, almost not believing his wife. She insisted, gesturing to the television in the next room.

"Weather gets unpredictable when we get closer to the summer time!" Touko stated.

Natsume chewed politely on his food, giving only a small comment here and there, ever so kind to his guardians. He ate all that he was given, but rarely took much of the fish for himself. It wasn't until Shigeru asked him to have some more fish that he started to reach for the white meat with his chopsticks.

"_Gouchisousama._" The boy started to pick up his used dishes when Touko stopped him, waving him off.

"You can leave your dishes there, Takashi-kun," said she. "I'll wash them for you so you can go have fun with your friends." Natsume's face blanked for only a second before offering up a kind smile. He obeyed and laid his chopsticks neatly across the bowl.

"Thank you, Touko-san." He made his way out of the kitchen and dining room, closely followed by the fat cat who guarded him. He waved as the Fujiwara couple called out to him their good wishes and temporary goodbyes. Black sneakers snug on his feet, he grabbed the red leash by the shoecase before setting off for an enjoyable Sunday.

* * *

Sometimes people would whisper as he passed by, or as they passed him by. It was something that used to happen a lot – they would whisper rumours about him, slander him, or just plain gossip. So now, the telltale sound of someone breathing soft words made his heart jump into his throat. But now, the quiet words weren't as frightening, because those weren't the main reasons that people whispered about him any more.

Now, they whispered less about him being an oddity, and more about him walking a cat. Pairs and groups of girls giggled and a few of them pointed, but Natsume wasn't able to see all of them, only being able to pick up on people in his immediate vicinity. So really, there were more people looking at him than he thought there were.

"That's so cute; he's walking his cat!" One girl tried not to giggle. "That's honestly really adorable."

"It'd be cuter if the cat wasn't so ugly though," said another. "It looks like some sort of pudgy raccoon..."

Natsume glanced down to the cat that was tethered to himself. Nyanko-sensei _was_ starting to look a little more boxy... The _youkai_ sat down, staring forward with such intensty as if to study the road in front of them. A little surprised at his guardian's lack of reaction to the comments of bystanders, Natsume curiously followed the feline's gaze. A ponytailed girl stood calmly before them, dressed in jeans and a green and white t-shirt.

"Something smells." The _ayakashi_ guardian muttered, but his small comment was ignored.

"Oh, Ogino-san." Natsume has already forgotten that he'd been given express permission to address her more casually – but he supposed it'd feel a little weird to call someone he'd just met by her first name so soon. "What're you up to?" Chihiro looked surprised to have run into him, but she quickly schooled her expression into a safe and polite smile.

"I was just picking some groceries up for my mom tonight," She held up the bulging bag of groceries in a small, tan hand with lithe fingers. Natsume could see that pink nail polish was chipped off at the edges, and the ends of some nails were rough and short. "I didn't think I'd end up bumping into you, though." She paused for a moment to glance at her surroundings. "Listen, Natsume-kun, just for future reference, I think it'd be better for us not to see each other outside of school-" A sudden breeze washed over the two teens, letting their hair float with the air. Chihiro said nothing more, avoiding Natsume's eyes – instead, she opted to look at the storefront beside them.

The young girl looked towards her left to a small store front shaded by a bright blue veranda. It seemed that it sold gifts and home décor (Natsume had once purchased a nice hairpin for Touko on her birthday,) and multitudes of wind chimes sat peacefully in front of it's windows, hanging from the striped veranda. Another wind blew – but stronger this time. Chihiro shielded her face with one hand. There was no sound but the rustle of their clothes and the blow of the wind as it died down.

But weren't they standing next to wind chimes?

Natsume's eyes shot wide open, his sudden apprehension forcing him to take a sharp inhale of breath and he snapped his head towards the store beside him. Chihiro never stopped looking at the wind chimes. Why didn't the chimes make any noise when the wind blew? There, blocking the store front from the two, was a large, amorphous black mass of shadow with many tiny little hands stretching out from it. The little hands on long, skinny arms balanced the _ayakashi_ on top of the bells and chimes, holding them taut with it's weight. Blank, white eyes shifted from the other side of what was it's head to the front in order to face them. A wide, grinning smile split the face nearly in half, and the ends of the mouth curled maliciously as it stared at the children.

"I found you, troublesome human." It spoke in a voice that sounded like ice cracking when you stood on a frozen river for too long.

Nyanko-sensei hissed and stood his ground in front of the two.

"Come on!" Natsume flinched as the black shadow reached out to them. Grabbing Chihiro by the hand, he sped down the street with her in tow, putting as much distance between him and the _youkai_ as possible. His guardian stayed behind, but the light-haired boy saw a glint of light in his peripherals, letting him know that Madara was taking care of the situation. Regardless, he ran, no longer having to hold Chihiro's hand as she easily kept pace with him. Soon enough, the scenery changed from the shopping district, to the quiet, suburban neighbourhood that sat close to the nearby farmlands.

"I'm so sorry!" Chihiro called to him as she ran. Entirely bewildered (and a bit tired,) Natsume stopped abruptly, letting Chihiro stop on her own and jog back to him.

"What- do you mean- 'sorry'?" Natsume gasped, hands on his knees. Chihiro wasn't in as bad a shape as Natsume, as she did hard exercise with the _kendo_ club. The two relaxed their legs and lungs, giving themselves a few minutes before Chihiro decided to answer.

"That _youkai_ is- I- this happens a lot." The brown-haired girl stuttered. "I didn't want you to get involved."

"No, it's- I'm used to these sorts of things. It might've been after... Never mind, it's alri-"

"No, I don't mean like the _rokurokubi_ from the other day." Chihiro waved him off. "It's bigger than that."

"What do you mean?" Natsume asked concernedly. "If there's some way I can help, I -"

"_No!_" Chihiro shouted. Natsume was taken aback by her reaction, blinking in bewilderment for a few moments. Strangely enough, it reminded Natsume of whenever he had to tell Tanuma not to try and help him. It seemed that Chihiro was shocked at her own outburst as well, and gave the boy an apologetic look. "I'll be fine, Natsume-kun. I can take care of myself."

Natsume bit his lip, saying nothing more, not wanting to upset Chihiro. He felt a soft presence press itself against his leg – Nyanko-sensei must have chased the _youkai_ off.

"Listen, Natsume-kun... Meeting someone who can see the same things that I do is amazing." Chihiro avoided his eyes, instead glancing warily at the cat by his leg. "All I really want right now is to be friends with you, because it's just really comforting to not have to hide anything... But there's something I need to do, and I don't think it's wise to involve anyone else in this right now."

Natsume wasn't sure what to feel – concerned, disappointed, _alone_... But by far, he instinctively felt that something was wrong – something was off balance, out of place. Chihiro's request was unnatural – they had barely known each other for a full twenty-four hours, and he was already being pushed away. He didn't want to pry, but the creeping sense of danger and mystery scratched at the back of his mind, telling him to investigate. But not now. It was more important to tell Chihiro that he understood her – he knew what she meant, what she felt, even if he didn't know what exactly she was talking about.

"That's alright." He said quietly, as if to avoid startling her. Her round eyebrows shot up her forehead, eyes widened at his words – until she looked away again with a slight grimace. Was that guilt hiding in her face? She completely turned away before he could tell. The two murmured small, slightly awkward farewells to each other, and Chihiro walked down the road, groceries held tightly in a small, quivering hand.

Her figure became smaller and smaller as she kept going. Nyanko-sensei sunk his claws into the boy's clothing, careful not to hurt him, and climbed up his body until the cat rested on on shoulder.

"You should do as she says, Natsume." The _ayakashi_ seemed a bit uncharacteristically serious. "Something's off about that girl. I've smelled it on her since we bumped into her this morning."

"What do you mean?" Natsume said cautiously. Did she lie about not being an exorcist? Or was she actually a spirit pretending to be a human?

"Just stay away from her, Natsume." instructed the guardian. "Her trouble is no concern of ours, and meddling with things that don't concern you like you usually do would only cause trouble." The boy was silent. There was no reason to argue against that – even if he wanted to help Chihiro, he couldn't do anything if he didn't know what was going on. But he'd be damned if something bad happened because he didn't do anything.

* * *

The walk back home was uneventful, interrupted only by the occasional greeting from a few friendly spirits that passed Natsume by. It was two in the afternoon now, and the sun was high in the sky, it's light shining down on those below. Touko welcomed him back from his walk with fresh cream and strawberries before she stepped out for a meeting with her book club at her friend's house. Now able to talk freely, Natsume picked up the home phone in the living room, dialling a friend's number.

The phone rang a few times before it was answered by a low, sophisticated voice.

"_Hello?_"

"It's Natsume, Natori-san."

"_Oh! Natsume-kun! It's a bit unusual for you to call me._"

"Ah, I figured you might have some information."

"_Information? That depends._" Natori paused, thinking. "_You got yourself into some trouble again, didn't you? I keep telling you that you should'nt involve yourself in such things, Natsume -_"

"It seems like everyone's telling me this today... No, I haven't 'gotten' myself involved in anything. It usually ends up being that trouble finds me."

"_Ah... I see. What was it that you needed my help with? Did you need information on how to put up a ward or something?_"

"No, it's – um... It's about what you said to me last time. About the forest around Fuji-san."

"_Aokigahara?_" Natori 'hmm'ed. "_That's a touhcy topic, Natsume-kun. Did something happen?_"

"No, Natori-san. I'm just asking out of curiosity." The boy assured him. "If the _youkai_ from _Aokigahara_ are migrating somehow, could it be that there's another _youkai_ that they're following? Or maybe an exorcist is leading them in this direction?"

"_Yeah, the exorcist clans have been speculating about that too. At first we suspected that they were following a very powerful entity, but we haven't heard anything about a god, demon, or other powerful youkai suddenly appearing around Yatsuhara._" The exorcist explained. "_So then we thought that maybe they were being lured there by a rogue exorcist, but all the clan members have an alibi._"

"That's not much... Is there anything else you can tell me?" There was a shuffling of papers, and when Natori spoke, it was a little more slowly, as if skimming over reports.

"_Well, while most youkai around Fuji-san are being affected somehow, regardless of whether they migrate or not, it seems that youkai in the entire Chubu region are acting a little strange. Increased aggression, isolating themselves in their forests even more, et cetera. However, anywhere below Susono isn't being affected._"

"That's really strange. Do you know the reason why?"

"_We're working on that._" Natori said curtly, and the schoolboy wasn't sure if the actor was annoyed, angry, or suspicious, but he supposed that he ought to duck out now before Natori started to ask him questions as well.

"Oh... Well, that's good to know. Thank you, Natori-san."

"_Well, you're welcome, but what I want to know is where this sudden interest came from. Did you see something? Look, if something happened, you need to tell me Natsume, this is a very important -_"

Natsume let the phone rest on the receiver, effectively ending the conversation. Nyanko-sensei eyed him from his resting spot on one of the dining chairs, watching him carefully as he went to grab a small map book from the coffee table in the living room. He flipped through and unfolded pages until he found the one he was looking for. Determined hands laid out the colourful map on the kitchen table, holding down the creases. It was a map of the _Chubu_ region.

He quickly found Mount Fuji, and trailed his finger down to Susono. There was a large valley range populated by metropolitan cities in-between Mount Ashitaka and the mountain range holding the Kojiri Pass and Lake Ashinoko. Looking down further, he saw that the area that Natori said remained unaffected was the _entire Izu peninsula_.

"Hey! I thought you were going to keep out of troublesome business this time!" snapped Nyanko. "But I'm not that surprised that you're so stubborn to butt your head into other people's business, considering that you do this _every single time._"

"Yeah, but this is a really big issue!"

"All the more reason to keep your nose out of it!" Nyanko scolded him in return. "And you should stay away from the girl as well; the events of her arrival and the sudden movement of _youkai_ are too close for me to rest easy about it. She's probably some _youkai_ that is supposed to taste really good – or maybe has a lot of minions..."

Natsume pointed to a city on the map, and pulled the cat over to look at it.

"You might be right... Ogino-san is from Ito, Shizuoka..." He trailed off. "And that's right here, in the unaffected area."

"Well if you can't figure out how exactly that would make _youkai_ suddenly switch locations, then don't bother poking into it any further." said Nyanko. He leapt from his perch on the table down to the floor, starting to make his way towards the front door with a chuckle. "Or conversely, you could just jump right in so you an get eaten by a migrating _youkai_ and let me have the Book of Friends! Just a thought."

The spirit-seer glared at his guardian, a bit miffed at how unhelpful the ceramic cat was being. He knew that it might be particularly dangerous (so were the other times, but maybe more so this time) to involve himself with the Fuji affair, but if he's able to help, shouldn't he do so? Shouldn't he do all that is within his ability to protect both the humans and spirits in his home? It felt thick and heavy when he swallowed the words held under his tongue. The front door opened, the smooth wood sliding easily through the door frame.

"Where are you going?" Natsume inquired. It was almost half past two – although uncommon, it wasn't unheard of for Nyanko-sensei to go out and do something on his own. Something like-

"Drinking~!" The cat singsonged back to the boy. It was a little bothersome sometimes, how his guardian would constantly leave for Yatsuhara parties and meet-ups, but Natsume supposed that even spirits need a way to have fun. (He then thought about how drinking only ever lead to the _youkai_ keeping him up at night, and grumbled under his breath.)

With nothing else to do, the boy retreated to his bedroom to finish up homework before class started the next day.

* * *

"Oi!" Madara greeted the Yatsuhara troupe, who was having a picnic in front of the empty shrine again. "Hey weaklings!"

One-Eye and Bullhead looked up from their leaves full of berries and nuts as Hinoe and Chobihige continued to drink their sake. The most powerful _ayakashi _of the four sighed, glancing up towards the sunny blue sky, listening to the wind's gentle caress of the treetops.

"It was such a nice day, but then I heard the old man voice of yours." Hinoe raised her voice when Madara reached the group. She held out a small green cup to the ceramic beast. "Want a drink, Madara?"

"Don't mind if I do!" He cackled, greedily taking the sake cup into hand and gulping it down. Immediately, he reached for the bottle itself and started drinking from it. "And you better watch your mouth, Hinoe; maybe someday you'll find yourself in between my pearly white canines!" The Medicine woman laughed at him, lowering her cup so that the alcohol wouldn't splash anywhere.

"You'd never do that."

"Maybe not; you probably taste old and soggy." Hinoe threw her cup at him, hitting him squarely on the nose. A round paw rubbed gingerly at his small nose. "Anyways, I'd love to stay and party, but I've got business to attend to."

The four _ayakashi_ eating and drinking glanced up at Madara, curious to know what he was working on – and probably hunting – this time. Whenever Madara had "business to take care of," it was usually because something had managed to harm or attach itself to Natsume, and the higher-class being was looking for a way to get rid of the offender. Worried for the human boy, all four middle-class beings listened intently, not asking about what happened this time. The cat took a long swig from the sake bottle, and sighed in content.

"What do you idiots know about that human with a masked scent?"

* * *

AN/TN:

_Aokigahara – Forest at the (north?) base of Mt. Fuji, famous for suicides, and associated with death for a very long time in Japanese history._

_Ayakashi – A ghost of the sea, a monster; often sued synonymously with the word Youkai._

_Yatsuhara – Lit. Eight Fields, this is the kinda mountainy section of Natsume's town with the forest, the abandoned forest shrine where they play tag and sometimes where Nyanko goes drinking, and the temple where Tanuma lives._

_Youkai – A monster/spirit of Japanese lore._

_Kendo – Modern Japanese sword sport that descended from traditional Japanese swordfighting._

_Rokurokubi – A youkai (typically a female) with a long neck. The similarities end here when regarding the youkai with a long neck that I described previously in the story._

_Fuji-san/Mount Fuji – Mt. Fuji is commonly referred to as Fuji-san, not using the -san honorific as to refer to people, but as another way of saying 'yama' which is mountain, as far as I can tell. i.e., Mount Fuji/ Fuji Mountain/Fujiyama._

_Chubu – A region in Japan. It includes Mt. Fuji, the Shizuoka Prefecture, and others._

_Susono – A town in between Mount Ashitaka and the mountain range holding Kojiri Pass and Lake Ashinoko._

_Mount Ashitaka – A mountain... Not too sure how to describe where it's location is... I'll post a little map on my tumblr. (birdyflee)_

Anyways, I hope that I fulfilled your expectations with this chapter; I think it's already moving very quickly – Madara is starting to investigate and everything! I'm sorry that I don't keep timely updates; I'm not every active when it comes to writing (I just do it when I feel like it, tbh).

Just as a note, it's around mid or late May in this fic, as the school year in Japan actually starts in March or something.


End file.
